We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Patty Dodd. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Patty below.

Patty, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

MBsand Volleyball Club teachers players (ages 10-18) of different ability levels how to play beach volleyball. Our successes come in different ways.
For the recreation a player, success is the pure joy of learning how to play the game. It’s a life skill that they can carry on well into their 30s, 40s and 50s. Beach volleyball is an important part of our recreational community. It’s a way to stay fit and enjoy time with your friends.
For the player interested in playing beach volleyball at the college level, our success has come 49 times over in the past 7 years. We have 49 players committed to division I colleges all over the country. Mike and I, the club directors are extremely proud of helping young women accomplish their dreams. These players are disciplined in the classroom and on the court. They learn to balance school, training, social and competition. For most it’s a 4 plus year commitment to the sport to make it happen. We are fortunate that in Southern California, we can train year around and have great competition without having to travel very far. It’s a sport that’s We are fortunate that in Southern California, we can train year around and have great competition without having to travel very far. It’s a sport that’s budget friendly. At MBsand, players and families have a lot of autonomy over their schedule and can select their training an amount of tournaments. This flexibility is very appealing to families used to other clubs sports that make everything mandatory.

Patty, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Patty Dodd and I am the club Director at MBsand Volleyball Club. I competed indoors at UCLA. In my 5th year, I was graduate assistant coach and I knew then I wanted to be a coach at some point in my life. After UCLA, I competed professionally in Europe, then on the AVP tour. I waited until my youngest was off to college to start MBsand volleyball club 8 years ago. I coached my two daughters in middle school and indoor club. There, I gain valuable experience. But my love was with beach volleyball because it’s a game that teaches players to be good at all the skills, to be problem solvers and to be strategic. Because it’s just you and your partner, and there are no substitutions, beach players learn life skills that carry on beyond their playing years.
Because I’m a lifelong learner and a curious person I study film, listen to podcasts and read about beach volleyball and leadership constantly. I love to share ideas with other coaches. I’m a founder of Beach Natio, a company that teaches coaches how to coach and exposes college hopefuls to college coaches. Beach Nation is the education of partner off USA. Volleyball, the JVA, the AVP and AAU. I also coach for our USA national team development program NTDP.
As a parent of two volleyball players I experienced the frustration of the lack of flexibility of indoor club and beach clubs. I found myself paying for practices that my kids couldn’t attend. When, I created MBsand volleyball club, I made it flexible so that families can create their own schedules. This has been very well received by my clients. We have a high retention rate. We have been able to build an incredible community of families that trust us, respect us and grow to love the craft of Beach Volleyball. We have won 8 BVCA and 4 AAU National championships. We are small but mighty.
My years of playing, coaching indoors, teaching elementary combined with a UCLA degree in psychology really helped me prepare to coach. At MBsand we teach way more than the sport. For us it’s very important that our players are of the growth mindset, are supportive partners, focused in practice, are problem solvers, are their own advocates, are resilient, are competitors, are kind, are leaders and understand the importance of mistakes as a learning opportunity.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

MBsand volleyball club is organized and consistent on its delivery of practice quality. We have practice plans for every practice so coaches and players can maximize their time on the sand. We have a list of values that our engrained on our players and parents are grateful for it.
MBsand Volleyball Club is one of the few clubs that has a permit to use the public courts in the Southbay, we are also insured.
We communicate well with our clients via email or Instagram. Our coaches care first and teach second. All coaches are mentored to teach the MBsand methodology and style of play. We have created a safe and welcoming environment to all kids 10-18 years old interested in beach volleyball. Our flex schedule is appealing to busy families and we have different pricing options. We don’t charge membership or tryout fees, we believe those are money grabbers. We can evaluate a players in a few minutes.
We are honest with our players and families. Our expectations align. Our families are our greatest resource of growth, they are MBsand ambassadors. We do not recruit, we do not spend dollars on advertisement. We rely on word of mouth.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Mindset by Carol Dweck.
This is a must read for any parent, coach, anybody… please read it.
It helped become a better teacher, coach, person. Understand how to learn, being curious makes for a fun life.
Training Soccer Champions by Anson Dorrance
It helped me be a better coach. I don’t coach soccer, but this book is about the art of coaching.
I have to wear so many hats as a coach, i.e. leader, expert, mentor, listener, motivator, travel planner, psychologist, peace maker, uniform manager, practice planner, family counselor, recruiting coordinator, coaches coordinator, IG content producer, administrator, website editor, etc etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mbsand.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbsandvbc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mbsandvolleyballclub